Please help! need advice on decision

[smdjd]

Hi guys!!

My major is chemistry and I would like to study organic chem in more depth pursuing my PhD. 

I got admissions from Northwestern and Scripps. Dose any one knows about the strong and weak points of these schools? If you were in my situation, which school do you choose? 

[Bibica]

First, congrats on getting into two very good schools. They are tied in rank according to US News, so things you ought to consider are fit (how well your research interests align with faculty), placement record, funding, and location. My advice is to reach out to professors and especially graduate students at both of these schools and discuss these things before making your decision.

[Eigen]

You should in no way decide before you visit. They're both good schools, but you should get to interact with potential advisors at each school before you decide where you want to go. 

If you can't make an interview in person, you should arrange for a Skype interview, ideally with each PI you would want to work with, and potentially some students from those groups. 

Fit (who you're going to work with and for for the next 5-7 years) is an immensely important factor, far more so than any over-arching "strong and weak points" of a school or department as a whole. 

[rheya19]

Try to get a sense of the departments' culture, too. Talk to current students there. Is funding ever a problem? How competitive is it amongst students or faculty? Do people there collaborate well? Do people have lives and interests outside of school? Remember, you're going to be working closely with the people at one of those two schools for several years. Make sure you'll be happy there, or at least not overly miserable (after all, grad school isn't a walk in the park.)